Another high school football season is kicking off, which means there will be cheering, whistles and the sound of helmets crashing into one another.
That head to head contact means it’s important for coaches, players and athletic trainers to be aware of the signs and symptoms of concussions.
Aspirus neurosurgeon Dr. Samuel Waller offers some advice as our student athletes get ready to perform between the sidelines...
“We need to keep the health of our players foremost in their mind. Number one I think you need to have an organized approach to how do you protect your players and make sure that they’re playing in a safe way. Unfortunately our kind of sports culture kind of says play through injuries a lot which in brain injuries it’s the exact opposite of what you want to do and it puts you at a lot of risk. Any time you even have the least bit of suspicion of that, players, coaches, therapy and training staff on the sidelines, and parents that are watching should immediately pull that player from play, make sure that they’re at least getting checked out."
Dr. Waller says if concussion symptoms last more than an hour or two, you should go to the emergency room to get checked out.
